When running a business selling the items you sew, you need to be very cautious of what you spend time and money on. To have a business, you need to be profitable. And time and money spent outside production costs tend to eat into profits the most. It’s easy for consumers to justify spending more money because an item uses a high-quality/expensive material. But consumers don’t see the time and money you spend on the elements surrounding your products. But those costs must be worked into your prices…so it’s best to keep them low. Here are 5 things that can…
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Continue ReadingMany people start their sewing businesses after making a few items for personal use and being told by friends and family that they should sell them. Then they go to work making dozens more of an item, signing up for a craft fair, and selling their items to consumers. But…
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Continue ReadingIf you’re sewing to sell, it’s important to become as efficient as possible and find cost savings anywhere you can. It can be hard to make a handmade, one-person business profitable. Your prices can’t be too high, or consumers will just go to mass-produced options. But if you price them…
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Continue ReadingZipper pouches are so handy, which is why they make a great product to sew and sell. Once you get the hang of them, it’s easy to adjust the size, based on what you want to fit inside. I’ve created 3 sizes of flat-bottom zipper pouches: Small (approx. 3″ tall…
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Continue ReadingIf you’re thinking about sewing to sell, bags and purses might be a good category to explore. There are so many patterns and designs, making bags a good category for most skill levels. This collection of products could work into an existing product line, if you’re already selling bags. Or,…
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Continue ReadingThis pleated zipper pouch matches my: Pleated Clutch Pleated Triangle Pouch Pleated Sunglasses Case It will fit inside the clutch bag to organize smaller items. Zipper pouches are a quick and easy sewing project. This one does have the extra steps of adding the pleats and sewing the top and…
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Continue ReadingI designed this pleated sunglasses pouch to match my: Pleated Clutch Pleated Triangle Pouch Pleated Zipper Pouch It was created to fit sunglasses, but this case could be used for other items, such as smaller toiletries, makeup, makeup brushes, pencils, etc. If you’re not comfortable sewing in zippers, you could…
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Continue ReadingI designed this triangle pouch to match my pleated clutch and to offer a design that’s a little different from the other triangle pouch patterns out there. Triangle pouches are a popular style of bag because they’re perfect for organizing, packing, or storing smaller items such as toiletries or makeup.…
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Continue ReadingQuilted items, such as quilted tote bags, quilted boxy bags, quilted book sleeves, etc., are currently popular. So this may be an unpopular opinion, but I don’t think most handmade businesses should sell quilted products. (My opinion on patchwork design is the same, which is often used in quilting and…
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Continue ReadingIf you want to sew products to sell at craft shows or online, it’s important to choose the right products to ensure you’ll be profitable and can build a sustainable business. Here are the 5 questions I considered when deciding what type of sewing business to start. 1 –…